CMA analyses feedback on proposed Google search user choice requirement

The Competition and Markets Authority published further responses to its Google search user choice consultation on 30 October and said it is still analysing the feedback.

The proposed user choice conduct requirement, put out for a further consultation on 23 September, concerns what the CMA calls Google’s “choice architecture”, and how that influences consumers’ decisions.

Respondents include DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Microsoft, Mozilla, OpenAI and Skyscanner.

The work follows the CMA’s designation of Google as having strategic market status in general search and search advertising, confirmed on 10 October 2025.

Search advertising is where an advertiser pays for its advert to appear next to the results from a user’s search.

The CMA’s final decision says the scope covers Google Ads, Search Ads 360 and AdSense for Search when they provide advertising to users of general search.

The CMA said those products fall outside the designation when they are not providing advertising to users of general search.

It found that Google accounts for more than 90% of all general search queries in the UK, measured by traditional search queries and search-grounded AI queries.

Will Hayter, the CMA’s executive director for digital markets, said Google maintains a strategic position, “with more than 90% of searches in the UK taking place on its platform.”

The CMA said that designation is “not a finding of wrongdoing” and introduced no immediate requirements.

Instead, it lets the CMA consider proportionate, targeted interventions so that search is open to effective competition and businesses and consumers can be confident they are treated fairly.

Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, the CMA may designate a firm and then impose conduct requirements on it.

To designate a firm, the CMA must decide that it has substantial and entrenched market power and a position of strategic significance in a digital activity.

The CMA imposed its publisher conduct requirement on Google on 3 June.

It imposed its fair ranking and data portability conduct requirements on 17 June.

Those followed a consultation on a package of conduct requirements launched on 28 January, and online roundtables in February with businesses, trade associations and civil society bodies.

The CMA confirmed that AI Overviews and AI Mode are in scope, while Google’s Gemini AI assistant is not, though that position will be kept under review.

Google’s Top Stories and news tab are in scope, but the separate Google News app and website are not.

Google’s syndication services are also out of scope where a website uses them only to search its own articles.

No outcome on the user choice requirement has been given.